This invention is directed to improvements in Schottky barrier beam lead diodes designed for operation in millimeter wave circuits. Millimeter wave beam lead Schottky barrier diodes are known in the art as shown for example in U.S. Pat. No. 4,301,233.
In the present invention the Schottky barrier beam lead diode is intended for use as a mixer in millimeter wave circuits. To obtain high electrical performance, that is, low conversion loss and low noise, using conventional beam lead diodes in these circuits requires great care in diode mounting as well as good mixer circuit design. Since the matching elements in the circuit are normally located away from the diode junction, bandwidth is limited and mixer performance tends to be not very repeatable. In the present invention the Schottky barrier beam lead diode is improved by placing the primary matching elements on the diode structure itself. This makes the diode relatively insensitive to mounting techniques and increases its electrical performance over a wide bandwidth.